Ohio State men's basketball coach Thad Matta missed the spring meeting of Big Ten
coaches and athletic directors in Chicago this week to rest his chronically ailing lower back.
Matta had an epidural last Friday to relieve pain in a herniated disk and was told not to sit in
one place too long - so, no air travel or long meetings.

Among the items discussed by Matta's colleagues was possibly moving some conference games to
early or mid December to eliminate the conflict with football bowl games. Ohio State's basketball
game at Iowa on Jan. 4 started a half-hour after the Buckeyes football team kicked off in the Sugar
Bowl.

Meanwhile, Matta has yet to fill the video coordinator vacancy on his staff created when Kevin
Kuwik left for Dayton. But one name keeps popping up in conversations with those in the know:
former Duke guard Greg Paulus, who was a first-year assistant at Navy last season. Navy coach Billy
Lange resigned this month to become an assistant at Villanova.

The May 30 edition of
ESPN The Magazine hits newsstands today, and Ohio State fans won't like the cover: a
scarlet sweater vest with the a gray "Busted" where the OSU logo usually is. The cover story isn't
exclusively about Ohio State's troubles. The headline reads: From Newton to Pearl to Tressel: The
Most Scandalous Year in College Sports.

Ryan McGee's article starts with men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl's problems at Tennessee, but
eventually gets to Ohio State, where he quotes a compliance officer from a Big East school: "The
part that none of us understands is pretty simple and profoundly confusing: When (Ohio State
football coach Jim) Tressel had obviously been made aware of a potentially very large mess, why
didn't he just walk down the hall and hand it off? Their compliance office is very good."

It also offers this explanation from retired football coach Bill Dooley, whose 35-year career
included stops at North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest:

"It wasn't so long ago that you would have handled that situation exactly like (Ohio State), and
it would have been no big thing at all. Call the kids in your office, chew them out, call their
mamas, bench 'em for a little while and it was over. An old-school-style coach is going to think he
can still do it that way. But back then, just 10 years ago, the circle of people you had to control
was tiny. A few players, coaches, the athletic director, maybe a reporter. Now that circle is -
well, hell, it's the whole world."

Most Big Ten athletic budgets are based on the money from seven home football
games every season, so with a nine-game league schedule, schools would need three home
nonconference games in the years they play only four league games at home.

That creates some problems, but based on what commissioner Jim Delany said at the league
meetings this week, it's only a matter of time before the big Ten works them out.

"Some of the coaches would like to stay at eight," he said. "I explained that our fans would
like to have nine and television would like to have nine. And it gives a truer champion."

Because of long-term contracts, 2015 is probably the earliest that it could happen, with a more
likely start in 2017.

Austin Kearns' slow start (8 for 50, .160 average) for the Cleveland Indians
already has led to speculation that the outfielder's roster spot might be in jeopardy when Grady
Sizemore returns from the disabled list.

But Sizemore isn't due to come off the list until at least next Friday, and a lot can happen
between now and then. Sizemore could need more time for his bruised right knee to heal, and because
he has a history of trying to play through injuries, it wouldn't be surprising if the bruise is
worse than officials say.

Kearns is one of Indians manager Manny Acta's favorites, so he could stick around even if his
batting doesn't improve. Acta likes his defense and might be willing to show patience for a player
who is still adapting to his role as an off-the-bench guy.

Now that the Cavaliers have the first and fourth picks in the NBA draft, there is
all kinds of speculation about whom they will select. The mock drafts agree that Cleveland will
take Duke point guard Kyrie Irving with the first pick; he has been the consensus top pick for a
while, and the Cavs need help at that position.

It's the fourth pick that has created the speculation. SI.com and FoxSports.com have Cleveland
taking 6-foot-11, 262-pound Turkish center Enes Kanter, who intended to play at Kentucky last
season before the NCAA ruled him ineligible.

FoxSports.com explains: "The Turkish center is a bit of a mystery man to scouts and personnel
types, at least when it comes to seeing him in person on a regular basis. But it's not hard to see
why his skills should translate, and the Cavs would be better with his gritty rebounding, scoring
and defense down low."

Jonny Gomes will likely be the designated hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in their
weekend series with the Indians, even though he's hitting only .182.

Gomes has been the designated hitter in 16 of the Reds' past 18 interleague games - Miguel Cairo
was the DH in the other two - and manager Dusty Baker said he was going to "need" Gomes in that
role this weekend. Gomes hit three home runs while in the DH role in 2009.

Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett expressed support for Tressel on
his Facebook page. He posted: "Two thumbs up for my man Jim Tressel for protecting his players. You
got the respect from our community. We come from nothing and you know that and you protect us when
we act on impulse. More coaches need to stand up for the players who make them who they are."

And then this:

"I just got off the phone with coach Tressel and his heart is in the right place. The rules that
govern the athletes are not realistic. Its a new day and time and (I'm) supporting him. I love that
he protected his team and he will always have respect from Youngstown. He's our spokesperson. He
came from nothing to something."